For as Long as We Have
by hmweasley
Summary: Collection of Malec ficlets. 1. Alec is worried that the Clave won't let them adopt Rafael.


**A/N: As if I needed another ficlet collection. This one is all going to be short Malec stories, but it's probably going to switch between the book and show universes depending on my inspiration for any particular story. This one is about adopting Rafael, so it aligns more with the books. But I'm also behind on some of the material, so I'm sorry if there are any inconsistencies.**

* * *

Alec groaned as he stretched out his back. He hadn't realized how long he'd been hunched over his desk and pouring over every document on adoption the Clave had ever produced. He might have become the largest expert on the topic, but it didn't feel like enough.

A light knock on the doorframe caught his attention. He turned his head to find Magnus in the doorway, a small smile on his lips as he watched him.

"You've been at it for hours," Magnus said softly.

He pushed himself off the doorframe and came to stand behind Alec, kneading his shoulders with his fingers. Alec moaned and leaned into the touch. Leaning down, Magnus whispered in his ear.

"I think it's time for bed."

Alec shook his head.

"No," he said with a sigh, picking his pen back up. "There's way too much to do still. We go back to Buenos Aires in three days, and I—"

"Have read everything you possibly could and are prepared for whatever they try to throw at us," Magnus finished, pressing a kiss to Alec's head. "You need to sleep, Alexander."

Going to bed with Magnus and of finally relaxing was as appealing as it always was, but he couldn't shake the fear that had plagued him since he'd first brought Rafael to New York: that the Clave would never let him be adopted by a warlock.

"I know what you're thinking," Magnus said, pulling away and perching himself on the edge of the desk. Alec pouted at the loss of physical contact. "You're worried they'll reject our request to adopt him. I understand, Alexander, but nothing else you do right now is going to change the outcome, whatever it is."

Alec ran a hand over his eyes.

"You're right," he admitted.

Magnus smiled down at him gently and reached out to caress his cheek. Alec leaned into the touch.

"To bed then?" Magnus asked, pushing himself off the desk.

Alec nodded, taking Magnus' offered hand and trying to forget about the documents scattered across the desk.

* * *

When they arrived at the Buenos Aires Institute to yet another person handling their case, Alec wanted to complain. He knew it was typical protocol for the same person to work on any given adoption case, but no one seemed to care about that. The distrustful look the woman shot Magnus was enough to tell them why.

As they sat down across from the woman, Alec placed his arm on the back of Rafael's chair as much to comfort himself as the boy who was obviously concerned by the woman they were dealing with.

Her face was lined with laugh lines, but Alec couldn't imagine her smiling as she frowned at the paperwork and then up at the family across from her.

"This is the last paperwork you need to sign," she said, holding out a clipboard with three sheets of paper on it.

Magnus reached for it, and she visibly flinched as she handed it to him. Alec bit his tongue, determined to get through the meeting with Rafael as officially their son and not ruin things at such a late stage.

He leaned over to see the papers for himself as Magnus flipped through them, checking the details.

"I'll be honest," the woman continued unprompted, "I don't know if this would have gone through if you didn't have the Inquisitor himself as one of your references. How you managed that is beyond me."

Alec glared at her.

"He's my father. Rafael is his grandson."

The woman shrugged and averted her gaze to the wall. The family ignored her as they each signed the papers in the appropriate places. Alec handed the clipboard back to her, and Rafael giggled with excitement, earning smiles from both of his parents in return.

As the woman looked over the papers, she nodded, but her lips were set in a thin line. She sat the clipboard on her desk and leaned on her elbows, leveling Rafael with an intense gaze that made him shrink into his chair. Both Magnus and Alec reached for him.

"Are you sure you feel safe with them?" she asked the boy in a voice that was probably meant to be comforting. "There are other Shadowhunter families more than capable of taking you in. Under the law of the Clave, you have a say in who your adoptive family is."

"I want to stay with my dads," Rafael said.

His voice was shaky, and he pressed himself in Magnus' chest as he spoke, gripping a fistful of his shirt as if it were a security blanket. Alec ran a comforting hand over his back.

The woman frowned at the scene before sighing and taking the documents off of the clipboard to seal them in an envelope.

"Very well then," she concluded. "That's the last of the paperwork. The child is yours. It's not like I want to get on the Inquisitor's bad side, but I do admit," she frowned at Magnus and Rafael one last time, "I do wonder how a Shadowhunter will end up with a warlock for a father."

Rafael didn't let go of Magnus as they hurried out of the office. In the corridor of the Buenos Aires Institute, the boy squealed with joy, jumping up at down. He hugged both of his fathers in quick succession, unable to stay still. All three of them laughed.

Alec bent down to Rafael's level and ruffled his hair.

"Are you ready to go home?"

"Yes," Rafael replied eagerly.

As soon as Magnus had conjured the portal, Rafael gripped both of their hands, not letting go until they were back in New York.


End file.
